Pranab Mukherjee to meet heads of public sector banks today

August 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the Indian Government will look into the matter of Swiss banks rejection to hand over details of the Indian clients. Speaking to newsmen before entering his North Block office Mukherjee said, "What can I comment? I will look into the matter and discuss the Swiss Banks rejection to disclose the details with authorities in banking sector." Earlier Swiss Bank authorities rejected India's request to disclose details of clients, saying Swiss law and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions.

August 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will infuse fresh capital into the regional rural banking system to increase credit flow to the farm sector, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Tuesday. "The non-performing assets (NPA) levels of the regional rural banks (RRBs) are within acceptable limits.

August 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that the government had taken steps to save the weaker sections of the society from the rising prises. Addressing the members of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Pranab Mukherjee said that the government was providing subsidy to the people using the Public distribution system.

July 19th, 2009 SAGARDIGHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday said that the government would continue with its reform programme, but ruled out any possibilities of the government diluting its stake below 51 per cent in the public sector banks (PSB). The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has been pursuing the banking reforms agenda for quite some time and it is the "solid government stakeholding in the PSU banks" that has actually enabled the Indian banks to tide over the global economic downturn, he said.

July 12th, 2009 JANGIPUR - The central govenment has formed a committee to prepare a roadmap for merging the wholesale price index and the consumer price index, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Sunday. "A committee has been formed under the Central Statistical Organisation which is studying the trends in the wholesale price index and consumer price index and how soon both can be converged," Mukherjee told reporters, responding to a query on the prices continuing their upward trend despite an unprecedented dip in the inflation rate.

July 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the government would resort to more borrowings to increase 'public expenditure' for a higher economic growth. The minister said this while addressing the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India here in the national capital on Saturday.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said the national budget was not the document to spell out micro policy details and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government remained committed to divestment in state-run firms without diluting their public sector character. "I have made it very clear that we intend to include the public in disinvestment programmes," Mukherjee told an interactive meeting with India Inc, a day after presenting the national budget for the current fiscal.

July 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - The government will continue to hold at least 51 percent stake in the banks and insurance companies it owns, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting the union budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha Monday. However, citing the average public float in listed entities - which is less than 15 percent - the finance minister said the government proposed to increase the non-promoter holding in listed companies.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the first general budget at 11am today in Lok Sabha. This is the first general budget of the UPA government after coming to power for second term.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday pushed for commercial banks to cut interest rates, saying the measures announced by the central bank to ease their burden were not getting adequately reflected. Between September 2008 and April 2009, RBI reduced the key policy rates and also reduced the CRR (cash reserve ratio) and SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) requirements for banks," Mukherjee told heads of public sector banks here.

June 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday asked banks to cut interest rates and provide affordable credit to industry to spur economic activity. Addressing chief executives of public sector banks here, Mukherjee said, "As a financial intermediary the banks have to stand by to provide credit at reasonable rates." "The reduction in key rates by the Reserve Bank is not adequately reflected in the reduction of Benchmark Prime Lending Rates (BPLR) of banks," he added.

April 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has rejected BJP claims that the United Progressive Alliance is falling apart. On Sunday, Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi that all the constituents of the alliance except PMK are still with the UPA.

March 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday called on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani to thank him for cooperating with the government during the past five years of parliament session.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The combined turnover of the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) has gone up 84 percent to Rs.10.81 trillion (Rs.10,81,000 crore) last fiscal from Rs.5.87 trillion in 2003-04, Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee said here Monday. Presenting the interim budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is recuperating from heart bypass surgery, Mukherjee said combined profit of the CPSEs has increased 72 percent from Rs.530 billion to Rs.910 billion.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 has made public servants more accountable than before, acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday. 'The enactment of the Right to Information Act 2005 at the centre and in many states has bridged a critical gap in the public decision making process and ushered in greater accountability of public servants,' Mukherjee said while presenting the Interim Budget 2009-2010 in the Lok Sabha.